Actress Virginia Davis (b.1918) died on August 15. Davis appeared in several of the early “Alice” comedies produced by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks beginning in 1923. Although the first of the films was called Alice’s Wonderland, the character had nothing to do with the Lewis Carroll character. The “Alice” comedies mixed live action footage taken of Davis with animation. Although her contract was not renewed after the first thirteen “Alice” films, Disney used her in his ink and paint department and for voices in movies such as Pinocchio. She appeared in eight films in the thirties and forties in uncredited roles.

Baltimore fan Hal Haag (b.1946) died on August 12. Haag chaired Balticons 25 and 35 and was widely known as Balticon’s Gaming Czar. Haag sat on the Baltimore Science Fiction Society Board of Directors as well as an officer of the Maryland Games Club. Haag was quick to teach new board or card games anywhere he went and was the instigator of the 1998 Worldcon, Bucconeer.

The Mystery Writers of America has announced that they will join in sponsorship of Writer Beware, a writer advocate service which exposes publishing scams, educates writers on how to protect themselves from fraud, and maintains a massive database on their website of questionable literary agents, publishers, editorial services, and literary contests. SFWA has been running Writer Beware since 1998.

Anticipation reported 3370 warm bodies and 4355 members as of Saturday night, the most recent numbers available.

Raleigh, North Carolina won the right to host the 2010 NASFiC, to be called Reconstruction. The event will be held from August 5-8 at the Raleigh Convention Center. Guests of Honor include Eric Flint (Author), Brad W. Foster (Artist), Juanita Coulson (Fan), and Toni Weisskopf (Editor). Raleigh was unopposed and won with 241 votes.

Reno, Nevada won the right to host the 2011 Worldcon, to be called Renovation. The event will be held from August 17-21. Guests of Honor include Ellen Asher, Charles N. Brown, Tim Powers, and Boris Vallejo. Reno was unopposed and won with 650 votes.

The Hugo Awards were announced at Anticipation on August 9. This year’s base, a granite asteroid with inset maple-leaf flames, was designed by Seattle artist Dave Howell and was one of the heaviest bases ever created. The Hugo Logo Design Contest was won by Jeremy Kratz of Little Rock, Arkansas. It was selected from more than 390 entries from 24 countries. The John W. Campbell Award, which is not a Hugo, was also presented at the ceremony.

Best Novel: The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman

Best Novella: “The Erdmann Nexus,” by Nancy Kress

Best Novelette: “Shoggoths in Bloom,” by Elizabeth Bear

Best Short Story: “Exhalation,” by Ted Chiang

Best Related Book: Your Hate Mail Will Be Graded: A Decade of Whatever, by John Scalzi

The WSFS held its annual business meetings at Anticipation in Montreal. Motions to formally recognize Peter Weston’s contribution to the design of the Hugo Award, include language on the eligibility of electronic publications, and to make the Graphic Story Hugo a permanent category all passed, with the last needing additional ratification in 2012. A motion to abolish the Best Semi-prozine category failed ratification and resulted in a committee, headed by Chris Barkley, to examine the category and propose clarifying language. Barkley’s committee was also tasked with exploring how changes to the Semi-prozine category could also impact other categories.